Every pet, including red eared sliders, you’ll ever have comes with expenses. Food, vet bills, bedding – all of these things add up, but they are a necessary evil we all deal with to have the animals we love with us. Sliders, just like all other pets, have a particular set of supplies that you need to have on hand (or close at hand) at all times when you need to replace them.
By far the biggest issue with red eared slider supplies is UV bulbs. Turtles, and all reptiles, need light far more than any other pet you can think of. Sure, we all need sunlight to some degree, but reptiles can quickly crash and die without the necessary ultraviolet rays to make their internal systems function properly. Other pets can get by with a little sunlight coming through windows and the like, but sliders need their UV lamp. The problem is, people are used to replacing bulbs when they burn out. You see your turtle’s bulb has burned out, so it’s time to replace it, right? Wrong. The time to replace that bulb was months ago. You see, UV bulbs stop effectively producing UV rays after about 6 months of use. They will, however, continue to produce visible light, which doesn’t help your turtle in the least. So, to be safe, always replace your UV bulb at the six month mark. You have a little leeway here, but don’t push it. The easiest way to alleviate this is by keeping a stock of extra UV bulbs in your closet, just in case.
Other reptile supplies that may need to be replaced before you visually realize it are food and medicinal supplies. While it is good to always have plenty of food on hand, you may have realized after a few months (if not beforehand) that your slider doesn’t need to eat pellets like a dog eats dog food. As a result, you may end up with a ton of food sitting there going bad. Always heed any expiration dates you see on the packaging! It may not look like anything is wrong with those pellets or other turtle products, but they may have lost their quality or—even worse—gotten moldy. Mold can be very dangerous to any organism and some mold can even be fatal if ingested. Mold can be present, even if you can’t see it. In this case, it’s definitely better to be safe than sorry.
Always to keep red eared slider supplies is a good practice!
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